Padres Acquire Hillenbrand

Even a rumormonger has to step away from the computer for a few hours, right? As you may have heard, the Padres signed beloved 32 year-old DH Shea Hillenbrand to a minor league contract. He’ll go to Portland and try to prove that his ship has not fully sunk.

I’ve been praising Kevin Towers a lot here but this move probably won’t amount to much. In the best case, Hillenbrand can fill in a little bit at first and third base, and as a pinch-hitter. Aside from this year, he’s hit lefties well. That’s also Kevin Kouzmanoff’s best trait, though, and Adrian Gonzalez doesn’t bear an massive split. This didn’t cost the Padres anything, but the effect should be next to nothing.